Deke Bellavia

Deke: Just glad it's over!

by Deke Bellavia,posted Dec 11 2012 5:33PM

OK, the former Commissioner had the spine to do what the current Commissioner was supposed to do, and that was to finish the job. Regardless of what you think or how you feel about the outcome of this entire ‘’bounty’’/pay for performance situation, you would have to be glad this is over.

I have enough law talk to last me a lifetime. Paul Tagliabue vacated the players’ bounty suspension and went on to lay more of the blame on the coaches and the organization than on the players. So why couldn’t Roger Goodell do this himself?

“He should have done this himself and not handed this over to Paul Tagliabue,” said Gabe Feldman.

Feldman is the Director of Tulane University’s Sports Law Program and he has been the top analyst when it comes to breaking down the ‘’bounty’’ case.

Now, all the talks of this whole saga will amp back up…and with the Saints out of the playoff picture, I fully expect to see more frustration and anger in Saints fans, perhaps even more than we have seen or heard at any other time.

It seems like to me this decision could have been made a long time ago, but it is what it is, and I’m surely glad it’s over. Did the decision of Roger Goodell hurt the Saints this season? Did Roger Goodell use his power in the best interest of the league and its players? And did Roger Goodell punish the Saints organization, its coaches, and the GM for the pay-for-performance program, or was this seemingly too harsh of a sentence handed down with an agenda?

I can’t sit here and tell you that the Saints would be 8-5 right now, or 9-4, instead of 5-8. I can’t say that the Black and Gold would be the first team to host and play in the Super Bowl in their own back yard. Could the Saints be a playoff team? Could the Saints be the first team to play in the Super Bowl they were hosting? Possibly!

What I can tell you is that Roger Goodell is not on solid footing as Commissioner in the National Football League. Folks, we are witnessing a man that has no idea of how to use the authority he has been given.

From the time Mr. Goodell went after a young man (Terrell Pryor) who was not even employed in the NFL yet, to the fines levied on players, to the way he handled the officials before his hand was forced to pay the refs after the most embarrassing Monday Night in the history of the NFL…Yes, Roger Goodell and his job performance has been questionable, to say the very least.

We will never know how good the Saints would have been if Sean, Mickey and Joe had been here the entire time. Yes folks, the New Orleans Saints and their fans are not the only losers here. The rest of league should be cautious because Roger is still in charge.

Just so happens a decision is made right after our season is over. So they take away our coach, our season is a wash and now we hear the Saints were not the only ones. Really? What a coincidence, all this comes out the year NOLA is host to the Super Bowl. Give me a break!

12/11/2012 9:18PM

Goodell should be unseated.

In a position with so much power, it is imperative that this individual have the ability to be impartial which he has clearly shown an inability to do so here. It became personal and his judgement was obviously clouded. He punished an organization, a city, and a fanbase way beyond the scope necessary to deliver his heavy handed message. And in doing so, he affected the competitive balance and integrity of the league far worse than any scandal the game has ever seen. Pissed off is the understatement of the year for how we fans feel about being cheated out of an entire season, with our team seemingly in its prime, by this tyrant!

12/12/2012 1:11AM

Sorry, Mr. Goodell

Here's the thing. When Mr. Goodell and his NFL entourage arrive in New Orleans for The Super Bowl, and try to check-in at the hotels where reservations were made, the front desk employees should state Sorry Mr. Goodell, we're full up! No hotel should have vacancies.

12/12/2012 7:31AM

I agree

No hotel chain in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding should have any for Mr. Goddell and his family for what he did to our team. Plus is it funny that he shows up @ the saints/giants game with his family to make sure he saw in person saints wereout of the playoffs. Next year who dat

12/12/2012 8:32AM

COME ON MAN

WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, AGAIN THE SAINTS FANS HAVE TO SUCK IT UP.WHERE IS MR. BENSON, WHY DON'T WE HERE FROM HIM.

12/12/2012 10:20AM

Sign, Payton

What's the hold up with signing Sean Payton, now that the NFL has given permission to talk to him why wait get the job done seems like we wait and wait and maybe we lose Payton, dangit just sign him Mr Benson

12/12/2012 5:23PM

Enough

How can you as commissioner turn over an incident to a former commissioner to resolve a matter that it's obviously screwed up? How do you expect players to have confidence that you're gonna do the right thing when most of your rulings have been unjustly administered? How many black eyes does the league will incur as long as you're commissioner? Tune in next week for the Young and Goodelless

12/12/2012 8:56PM

I think every Saints fan should send $1 to Vilma's lawyer to continue the case against RG.

I think every Saints fan should send $1 to Vilma's lawyer to continue the case against RG. A class action law suit by season ticket holders and all Saints fans against the NFL is a next step.

12/13/2012 12:15PM

No sir, RG, we will not move on; or embrace you at the Super Bowl.

Stephen A Smith in a debate on First Take went off on RG and then apologized to Vilma. No sir, we will not move on. The worm is beginning to turn. The NFL wants to move on, but Saints Nation is now in line to get its pound of flesh. We all have had to endure 9 months of abuse. Let us enjoy the apologies as they come.

12/13/2012 2:53PM

It is not over until the NFL admits it was wrong.

In an interview with Charlie Rose, on CBS, DeMaurice Smith said, "At times when you make a wrong decision, perhaps, your authority should be undermined." Smith went on to say that there was no bounty put on players by Saints players. Any Saints fan that wants to move on, right at the precipice of the truth coming out, obviously supports the NFL position and is simply being a mouth piece for their agenda.